Students were pitted against faculty in the Queer game show held by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer/Questioning Resource Center held in Reeve 307 on Wednesday.
The center started in the fall of 2008 in an effort to make UW Oshkosh a safer, more inclusive campus and to welcome members of the LGBTQ community.
The event featured a panel of five faculty and staff serving as one “family” and an interchangeable set of five volunteers for each of the four rounds to make up the student ‘family,’ along with an audience.
With midterms and the holiday season closely approaching, it served as a way to give students a break to enjoy themselves.
UWO senior Garrett Denning explained how it is a nice way to take some time to relax and get away from everything going on during this time of year academically.
“We’re dealing with so much just trying to get through our classes, and with midterms, things are starting to pick up, and there’s no real break in sight, so having something to come together and enjoy ourselves at is so crucial for students,” Denning said.
Kaylee Bork, a senior and intern for the LGBTQ resource center, explained the importance of holding these types of events for students.
“I think it’s important to have a place where everyone is welcome,” Bork said. “Everyone can be themselves and feel that they’re in a safe place.”
For students looking to get involved with the resource center or to do an internship, Bork suggests you’ve come to the right place.
“It’s a very fun and welcoming environment,” Bork said. “We have lots of different groups and programs that you can get involved with around campus. The internship is 120 hours between 14 weeks for three credits.”
The answer to the questions for the game were based on a survey sent out to 100 faculty and students on the Rainbow Alliance for Helping Others Perceive Equality, e-mail list.
The student organization includes gender, sexual and romantically divergent students as well as allies around campus.
The game featured various topics from pop culture including TV shows such as “Orange is the New Black” and “Ellen,” movies including “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Toy Story” and musicals including “Rent” and “Hamilton.”
Some examples of questions were “name a popular queer TV show character” and “what animated movie still makes you cry as an adult?”
Matthew Reinhardt, the LGBTQ Resource Center Program Assistant, donned a fake mustache for the event and even put on his signature game show host voice. He said events like this are a great way for staff and students alike to interact with each other outside of the classroom.
“We do this to bring students, faculty and staff together,” Reinhardt said. “It’s a way to connect and is humanizing. It breaks down that wall and gives us the opportunity to make it educational and a learning experience while still having fun.”
Denning said that the Center is important to serving the LGBTQ community.
“It’s a fun time, it gets a little competitive, obviously, but in the end, these are your people and you feel like you always have a place here,” Denning said.
